3Com Corp has introduced a local area network switch designed to meet small-to-mid-sized businesses’ need to support Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) and other data-convergence applications.

The Switch 4500 is a low-cost stackable 10/100 megabit per second switch featuring standards-based security for user authentication, together with Layer 2 switching and Layer 3 routing functionality to provide the intelligent switching capabilities. It support Tipping Point X505, the first integrated security platform built on Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) technology, device authentication through either the 802.1X protocol or RADA (RADIUS Authentication of Device Access), and has dynamic plug-and-play support for multiple vendors’ VoIP services.

It also offers the option of Power over Ethernet, which allows the Switch 4500 to provide electricity to IP-based phones and other powered network devices over an Ethernet connection. This eliminates the need to locate these devices near a plug point, or rewire the premises.

The Switch 4500 is available in four versions, with 26 ports or 50 ports, and with or without Power over Ethernet. Price range from USD1,059 for the 26-port version without Power over Ethernet to USD4,295 for the 50-port configuration with Power Over Ethernet.